Our Favorite Christmas Event in North and South Carolina

Christmas time is without a doubt my favorite time of year! From Christmas music to amazing Christmas food, the twinkle of Christmas lights to holiday decorations and crafts, help to bring the spirit of Christmas to life.

One of the challenges our family has had with Christmas is finding the time (and sometimes places) to take part in all the things that make Christmas so very special. WIth WinterFest at Carowinds, everything we love about Christmas and more is waiting at the amazing event!

Before you even get to the gate, you are greeted by the sparkle of Christmas lights, a giant Christmas tree and of course Christmas music!

As our family began to explore this magical Christmas wonderland, our hearts were filled with Christmas cheer and excitement and smiles were brought to our faces. Really, we had so much fun enjoying our favorite holiday! We started at the Christmas tree lighting and show. The 70-foot tall tree along with the amazing singers and performers made this show a real treat. Since it was a little chilly out (which made the Christmas feel even more alive) we sipped on hot chocolate and coffee from Starbucks (which is right next to the big tree) and enjoyed a terrific performance!

As we would discover, this was one of several great performances throughout the park. From Christmas bluegrass to the Holy Jolly Trolly, and our little girl’s favorite, Charlie Brown’s Christmas Spectacular, the music and spirit of Christmas were alive and well with this terrific line up of shows as well as others.

Now I must admit, when it comes to lights, I am probably the biggest kid in our family. With over FIVE MILLION lights, there is an amazing display awaiting at every turn.

One of my favorite areas is Candy Cane Lane. Located underneath Nighthawk. This area is filled with amazing light displays, several really cute Christmas themed sets for photo ops and of course Christmas characters for the kids to have a meet and greet with. Carowinds encourages you to bring a camera to capture all the memories!

Speaking of characters, I am happy to say, Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the rest of the Peanuts gang are all ready for Christmas as well! Being five years old, our little girl always enjoys hanging out in Camp Snoopy, but with WinterFest it took it to a whole new level! The entire area was filled with Christmas trees and displays! One of our favorite moments was seeing Snoopy dressed as Santa and taking a quick break to have a personal little dance party with him.

Snow Flake Lake is also a popular destination at Winterfest. Located in front of Intimidator, this frozen lake invited guests to enjoy outdoor ice skating! With giant projected snowflakes swirling and twirling on the ice, Christmas surrounds you here!

One of the most enjoyable things we did was the Peanuts craft time located near the front entrance. To be honest, I was not sure how my boys, especially my 15 year old would do, but all three kids sat together helping each other as they built their Christmas themed Snoopy dog houses or colored their own Peanuts Christmas cup! It was a lot of fun for our entire family! Your child is given the choice to pick two complimentary crafts!

While at Winterfest, make sure you stop by the North Pole Post Office! Here you will be greeted by some of Santa’s most helpful elves to write a letter to St Nick himself! The elves were so jolly and friendly and really took the time to make it a special time for our little girl! She giggled and smiled from start to finish as she wrote her letter asking for a piano!

Of course, no Christmas event would be complete without a visit to see Santa! As you wait to meet St. Nick, your little one will have the chance to admire beautiful Christmas decor as well as a few delightful elves! The elves were very engaging and playful with our little one which made the wait time itself entertaining!

So if your family is looking for a place to get a huge dose of Christmas spirit, look no further! From food to lights, singing to Santa, Winterfest has everything you will need to make your Christmas season complete!

Enjoy a few more photos from our evening…